HK on guard of Ebola disease after false alarm

Hong Kong health authorities are taking action to safeguard the city from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa following a false alarm connected to the virus.

The city was hit by an Ebola scare this week, after a woman complained of feeling ill after arriving in Hong Kong from Kenya.

However, testing later showed her symptoms have nothing to do with Ebola.

The current Ebola outbreak has been limited to the West African countries of Guinea, Libera and Sierra Leone.

Despite the negative test results, local health authorities are establishing early detection and isolation measures to contain any possible Ebola infection.

Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan is communicable diseases expert with Hong Kong's Department of Health.

"Any person who traveled from these three places to Hong Kong within the past 21 nights, uh, 21 days, who developed fever should be referred to the hospital. So the Hospital Authority has special arrangements to manage these patients."

Close to 700 of the 12-hundred people infected with the Ebola virus in West Africa have died from the virus.